Montreal Bagels, An Authentic Homemade Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a Montreal bagel different? ›

In contrast to the New York–style bagel, the Montreal bagel is smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt, and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked.

The Montreal Bagel Bakery, as it was called, was founded by Isadore Shlafman and Hyman Seligman. They went on to establish Fairmount Bagel and St-Viateur Bagel Shop, respectively. The bagel originated in Poland. The sweet dough made its way to Montreal with Jewish immigrants coming to Canada.

An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients. First and foremost, the dough has both eggs and honey in it. Second, the water they are boiled in is sweetened with honey.

If you are eating your bagels on the same day that you receive them, they should remain fresh and delicious. If you are eating them the next day, we recommend toasting before enjoying them.

For starters, Montreal's bagels are smaller and thinner, with a larger hole in the center. They're also baked in a wood-fired oven, whereas New York's bagels go in a conventional oven, according to Delish. Then there's the matter of toppings.

Compared to a “New York style bagel”, what makes the Montréal bagel the far superior is that, not only is each single bagel is made by hand, but they are poached in honey water before being baked in a wood-fire burning oven. This cooking process gives the bagel its distinctive chewiness, golden color and crust.

Montreal style bagels are boiled in honey and water, resulting in a sweeter taste. They are, however, cooked in wood-fired ovens giving them a deeper and crunchier crust. They are thinner and smaller than a New York style bagel while being doughy and dense.

Montreal bagels are so flavourful that they really don't need a topping. However, they are commonly paired with smoked salmon (or lox), onions, capers and cream cheese. Some local spots, such as La Fabrique de Bagel, offer flavoured cream cheese options on rotation, like maple bacon and cranberry orange.

Montreal bakeries typically stick to simple flavors like plain, sesame, poppyseed and everything (or "fully dressed" as they call it). Montrealers prefer to eat their bagels plain and warm from the oven, though shops do sell Philadelphia cream cheese for dipping if you prefer.

Montreal bagels tend to be smaller, thinner, sweeter and less salty than their New York City counterparts. Both are boiled, but Montreal employs wood-burning ovens for baking, while New York utilizes burlap planks. Many NYC loyalists tout the local tap water as the secret ingredient.

Can I freeze Montreal bagels? ›

To enjoy bagels long term, we recommend slicing your bagels in half, sealing them in a freezer-safe plastic bag, and keeping them frozen until ready to eat.

Fresh New York bagels are also traditionally never toasted, and they're fatter than a mass-produced bagel or wood-fired Montreal-style bagel.

A good bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon does not have to be toasted, as contrast with the fat and salt will be provided by the crunchy crust of a properly made bagel exterior. But a buttered bagel should almost always be toasted, so that you get that great, rich melted butter taste.

Bagels taste best when they're warm, as their insides get hard and tough once they've cooled off. Unless you've purchased a fresh-baked bagel - meaning less than six hours old - you'll want to toast your bagel before eating it.

Whereas, the standard size of a Montreal bagel is thinner, smaller and has a larger hole as compared to the New York one. The Montreal bagel has a calorie range of 120-220. This means it is definitely healthier than other versions of a bagel.

A New York–style bagel is always boiled in water that has had barley malt added, which gives a bagel its signature taste, texture, and leathery skin.